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Sunday, August 21, 2011

It's been as hotter than Andalusia here lately. And when the temperature soars, the last thing I feel like doing is adding fuel to the fire by turning on the oven or stovetop. Last week's CSA share, plus a care package from Aunt Regina's garden, provided me with more tomatoes and technicolor summer produce than I knew what to do with. Gazpacho to the rescue.

Besides relying on summer's bountiful vegetables, authentic gazpacho also contains a bit of bread and extra-virgin oil. But since I've been trying to consume more raw foods and less fat (emphasis on trying, succeeding is another story), I omitted the bread and cut back on the oil. If you use best-quality produce, honestly, you won't notice any difference; this soup is a symphony of summer flavors. If you're feeling like something more substantial, by all means, add bread, oil and anything else you think will pump up the volume. Whatever you do, just be sure to play Paco de Lucia while you're enjoying it.

Process all soup ingredients in a blender. The consistency is up to you. I like gazpacho thoroughly blended, but other people prefer a chunkier texture. Chill for at least 4 hours. Ladle into bowls and top with your garnish of choice.

7 comments:

Delicious! And don't worry - only Andalucian gazpacho has bread, there are plenty of recipes without it - I prefer it without bread. I just wish it was hot enough here to eat it, this is my first summer in the UK after 6 years in Spain - it's cold! :-)

And now time for something completely different (monty python esque) I'm not sure if you ever stumbled on this youtube channel, but its fantastic. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeZlih4DDNg&feature=relmfu